WHY YOU NEED TO VISIT VIETNAM

If you only have time to explore one country in Southeast Asia, choose VIETNAM!

Let’s admit it, when it comes to travel, Vietnam gets a bit of a bad rep. Before coming here all I heard were stories of travel scams, robberies, aggressive touts, and warnings that I’d be treated like a walking dollar sign. I was beginning to wonder whether I even wanted to spend a full month in this country, but 31 days later as my Vietnamese visa is about to expire, I am sad to leave Vietnam behind.

I’ll admit I’m relatively new to Southeast Asia, and have only covered three countries in the past three months, but Hanoi Vietnam has left the strongest impression on me by far.

So what makes Vietnam so special?

The People

The people are warm, kind, and love to laugh and smile. It is in this country where I have met some of the most caring locals.

When I was sick in Hoi An, it was the woman who runs the Green Moss restaurant who took it upon herself to get me all better. She prepared ginger tea with honey for me, gifted me with a mint balm to rub on my neck and my chest, urged me to wear a scarf to bed, and then checked up on me daily whenever she saw me cycling around town or eating at her restaurant.

In Vietnam people have helped me when I looked lost, locals I met on a train have offered to show me around their hometowns (for free! Further proof that I’m not just a walking ATM), and business owners have been courteous to me even when I didn’t eat at their restaurant or didn’t take their tour.

The Food

Vietnam has been an explosion of flavours! Most dinners Sam and I have eaten in this country have been silent because we’ve both been gorging on local delicacies like the food in front of our plates is about to disappear. We’ve been known to order four different dishes in one go because there’s just so much new food to sample.

Whether I was learning to cook Vietnamese food in a dim lit kitchen with no ventilation (picture beads of sweat running down my back and hopefully not onto my food), or enjoying a meal at a local farm in the outskirts of Hoi An, the food was spectacular.

Some of my favourite dishes in this country have been bánh xèo (a rice flour pancake stuffed with pork, shrimp, onions and bean sprouts) and fresh spring rolls. Fresh, flavourful, healthy, filling – what else do you need in a meal?

The Options

Then there is the diversity that comes with travelling in such a big country. I can guarantee that Vietnam will not bore you with its possibilities!

Want to travel down the banks of the Mekong Delta and experience the chaos of vendors at work in a floating market? Do you want to get lost in Saigon’s back alleys as you go in search of the best pho? How about getting clothes custom made in Hoi An? Or can I interest you with a cruise of Ha Long Bay where you’ll be waking up to jagged karst mountains outside your boat? You could also spend your time in Hanoi drinking bia hoi at a little street side bar equipped with plastic children’s furniture? Or if you’re feeling a bit more culturally inclined, go for a hill trek in Sapa where you can do a home stay with the ethnic tribes that call this place home?

If any of this sounds interesting, then you need to come to Vietnam already!

I’ve spent the entire month in Vietnam saying things like,

“I could totally live in Saigon. Sam, how would you like to come back to Saigon?”

“I could totally stay in Hoi An longer. Sam, wanna stay in Hoi An longer?” (We extended our stay.)

“Sam, wouldn’t it be fun to spend more time in Sapa? I think living here might be fun. No?”

I can’t sing Vietnam’s praises high enough!

I’m not saying that this country won’t pose its own set of challenges – you’ll encounter that wherever you go. However, if you’re glossing over Vietnam be cause of the negative things you’ve heard in the past, then you’re doing yourself a huge disfavour. Vietnam is one of the top destination to visit in Asia.

Give Vietnam a chance, and it may just blow your mind. hanoi

My First Trip to Vietnam Changed My Life

The globe-trotting chef’s CNN series Parts Unknown returns on September 28; here, he talks about his favorite destinations, memorable food experiences, and more.

With the fourth season of his CNN series Parts Unknown premiering on September 28, it’s an excellent time to talk to Anthony Bourdain about the highlights of his life on the road. (Coincidentally, we’re chatting at the hotel he rates above all others: the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.) In the forthcoming season, the globe-trotting chef ventures to offbeat locations such as Tanzania and Iran, focusing on the culture and people of each place as well as the cuisine. He admits it’s his curiosity that drives him to continue exploring. “I like delicious food,” he says, “but I’m just as interested in who’s cooking it and why.” Here, he discusses his favorite destinations, memorable food experiences, and more.

From all of your travels, which destination has made the biggest impression on you?

I’m crazy for Southeast Asia. I think all of us that work on the show love that part of the world. I love Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia for the flavors, the landscape and the people. Going to Vietnam the first time was life-changing for sure; maybe because it was all so new and different to my life before and the world I grew up in. The food, culture, landscape and smell; they’re all inseparable. It just seemed like another planet; a delicious one that sort of sucked me in and never let go.

Has anywhere you’ve been truly exceeded your expectations?

Iran was amazing, surprising and incredibly friendly, and Colombia is an extraordinarily friendly and welcoming place with delicious food. Uruguay was a very pleasant surprise too.

On the other end of the spectrum, has anywhere been a disappointment?

I didn’t have the best time in Romania as it’s difficult to shoot there. The government likes to control what you shoot and how you portray things, if at all possible, and the people there are generally uncomfortable around cameras. It wasn’t the most welcoming place I’ve been.

You’ve eaten at more places around the world than most people ever will; what had been your most memorable food experience while traveling?

There’s been a lot of them but eating with Paul Bocuse was remarkable. It was an epic meal with someone I’d idolized since I was a young man, and he’s one of the greatest chefs in the world. During the meal, I was very aware that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience; to eat with the chef himself, with all of those incredibly elaborate, luxurious courses. I was very aware when I was eating it, how fortunate I was. It was an amazing experience.

If I had one meal left to me in life though it would be in Tokyo at Sukiyabashi Jiro. It is the best—if not, one of the best—sushi bars in the world and I’m a sucker for really great, traditional, high-end sushi.

What’s the strangest dish you’ve eaten?

I don’t even know what strange means anymore, as I’ve been travelling for 14 years. It’s entirely each person’s perspective. I am constantly shocked by what we eat in this country though; like, the Cinnabon.

You must spend a lot of time in transit. What do you think of airline food?

I don’t eat it. Some airlines try harder than others for sure, but you never feel better after a meal than you did before it, so I take advantage of my time on a plane to sleep. I like arriving in any country hungry, so I can eat there when I get on the ground.

Do you have a favorite restaurant or is it too hard to choose?

I’m actually happiest eating street food, whether it’s in Mexico or Vietnam. I like eating at casual street food stalls in Asia or Latin America. I like yakitori; I like pho from Vietnam very much; I like the chicken rice in Singapore and the tacos in Mexico. They’re all delicious.

And do you have a favorite hotel?

I love very old colonial hotels in Southeast Asia, like the Metropole in Hanoi, the Majestic in Saigon or the Grand Hotel d’Angkor at Angkor Wat, but I also have a soft spot for the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, which is probably my favorite in the world.

What drives you to travel?

Curiosity about the world in general. I think food, culture, people and landscape are all absolutely inseparable. I like delicious food but I’m just as interested in who’s cooking it and why.

What destinations are next on your travel agenda?

I’m hoping to go back to Korea, Madagascar, Beirut, Okinawa, and Borneo; all for very different reasons. I’d like to go back to Borneo because I made a commitment to a tribe called the Dayak there who I stayed with years ago, and I want to go in harvest season. I think Korea is an emerging and important cuisine that I’d like to know more about. There’s always a personal or historical reason, or it’s just out of curiosity.